What happened in these chapters?
Valancy asks Barney to marry her.
“Yes. You know Dr. Trent’s reputation in regard to heart disease. I haven’t long to live—perhaps only a few months—a few weeks. I want to live them. I can’t go back to Deerwood—you know what my life was like there. And’’—she managed it this time—"I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That’s all.” (page 182)
They get married in a quiet ceremony and go to Barney's cabin on his island.
Valancy is driving into town to tell her family about her marriage when she runs into Cousin Georgiana. Georgiana cries when Valancy tells her that she married Barney. The rest of the family reacts just as badly.
"God bless my soul!" he said dully. The rest seemed to turn to stone. Except Cousin Gladys, who turned faint. Aunt Mildred and Uncle Wellington had to help her out to the kitchen. (page 200-201)
Most of them decide to act as if Valancy were dead. Valancy, however, is quite happy. There are scenes of domestic harmony. Barney buys her pearls for Christmas. But how could he afford those?
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Hat mentions (why hats?):
Blue homespun shirt, nondescript hat, muddy overalls. (page 184)
She wore her green dress and her green hat because she had nothing else to wear. (page 185)
She in her odd, unbridal green hat and dress; Barney in shirt and overalls. (page 187)
And here was Doss herself, coming along the road from Roaring Abel’s in such a queer green dress and hat. (page 192)
Her golden-brown hair curling richly under her big, white-frilled hat. (page 198)
That outlandish dress—that queer hat—those hands full of blood-red roses. Yet there was something about both dress and hat, as Olive instantly felt, that was entirely lacking in her own attire. (page 198)
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How many times did the Blue Castle get name checked in these chapters?
Two on page 191, one on page 193, two on page 205, one on page 210, 216, 217, 221, 222, 227, 232, 236, 237, 239
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Last week's homework:
Here's the passage I chose:
They got into the canoe and paddled out to it. They left behind the realm of everyday and things known and landed on a realm of mystery and enchantment where anything might happen—anything might be true. Barney lifted Valancy out of the canoe and swung her to a lichen-covered rock under a young pine-tree. His arms were about her and suddenly his lips were on hers. Valancy found herself shivering with the rapture of her first kiss.
“Welcome home, dear,’ Barney was saying. (page 191)
1) Narrative: Look at the quote and describe its place in the narrative.
Barney and Valancy have just gotten married and are now going to Barney's cabin on the island. They have to take the canoe to get there and Valancy loves it.
2) Symbolism: What metaphors are hidden in the text? What symbols do you see?
I think the big thing here is that all of this represents freedom to Valancy. Mystery and enchantment and a first kiss. This is all about how Valancy is finding herself. I hate it for her that her only path to this freedom is to be in a romantic relationship with a man, but that's how it was, right? (Is? Ugh.)
3) Reflection: How does this text speak to you in your life today?
It has been quite some time since I was young and in love for the first time. It just makes me think about all the young people in this world and how hard it is to be a young human right now.
4) Invitation: What action are you going to take?
I must have more patience with the young ones in my life - the world must seem so scary right now with dictators rising up in power, wars across the globe, and a very uncertain economy.
Also, I should try to bring some of the spark and excitement of young love back into my own relationship. After all, you're only young once, but I get a chance to enjoy being with my husband every day!
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Homework for next week:
What's your favorite line from the reading? Why is it your favorite?
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Line of note:
Winter was beautiful “up back”—almost intolerably beautiful. Days of clear brilliance. Evenings that were like cups of glamour—the purest vintage of winter’s wine. Nights with their fire of stars. Cold, exquisite winter sunrises. Lovely ferns of ice all over the windows of the Blue Castle. Moonlight on birches in a silver thaw. Ragged shadows on windy evenings—torn, twisted, fantastic shadows. Great silences, austere and searching. (page 227)
This reminded me of Elisabeth's Top/Bottom Five Winter Edition post. Winter can be great!
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Things I looked up:
Torquemada (page 205) - In the 1400s, a Roman Catholic Dominican friar and first Castillian Grand Inquisitor of the Tribunal of the Holy Office. Owing to the Inquisition's use of torture to extract confessions and burning at the stake of those declared guilty, and to Torquemada's own approval, even advocacy, of these practices, his name has become synonymous with cruelty, religious intolerance, and fanaticism. (This research got dark pretty quickly...)
oriel window (page 210) - form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground
Lucullus (page 221) - Lucullus was a Roman general and he was so known for his lavish feasts that that the word Lucullan now means lavish, luxurious and gourmet.
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Questions to ponder (as always, feel free to answer as many or few of these as you'd like - talk about what you want to talk about!):
1) Did any of you see that happening? I had no idea Valancy was going to ask Barney to marry her!! I was taken completely by surprise. Was this a brave thing to do? Or just dangerous?
2) Does everyone else think Barney is John Foster? This has come up in the comments in the last couple of weeks, but his holing up in Bluebeard's Chamber and his disparaging remarks about Foster to Valancy are making me suspicious.
“I wonder if John Foster ever spent a winter in Mistawis,” said Valancy.
“Not likely,” scoffed Barney. “People who writ tosh like that generally write it in a warm house some smug city street.” (page 230)
“Good Lord, do you learn all that fellow’s books by heart?’ was Barney’s disgusted reaction as he strode off. (page 231)
3) Would you like to live in Barney's cabin on the island? (There's a semi-famous poet who lived on an island in my town and seemed to live this sort of life.)
4) The book is wrapping up next week. How do you think this is going to end?
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March 10: Wrap-up
*I love how Valancy just takes the bull by the horns and asks him to marry her. She has no time to waste.
ReplyDelete*My soft spot for Cousin Georgiana continues. She gave Valancy a wedding present and asks ""wistfully" if she was really happy. She is concerned about Valancy, where everyone else continues to be horrified/shames/disdainful.
*The more Valancy connects with nature and the simple necessities of life, the happier she is. Away from the suffocating atmosphere and rigid shibboleths of her family.
*She gets her dust-pile!
Many mentions of cats, courtesy of Banjo and Good Lick.
I think, since I have just assumed that Valancy's health is fine and the doctor is wrong, that I forget Valancy thinks she is dying and she really has to just go for life.
DeleteI listened to the podcast "Story Girl" about LMM and she was a real cat lover in life!! I think that comes through in this book.
Wait you have an island in your town????? I gotta get back to WI this summer.
ReplyDelete1. YES I WAS SHOCKED THAT VALENCY GOT MARRIED!!! And also delighted. Go girl!
2. YES BARNEY IS JOHN FOSTER!!! I'm betting the farm on it.
3. Count me in for the island!
4. I'm happy that it's a new week because it means we get more reading, but I'm also sad that it's the last week because I don't want it to end. My prediction is that we find out that we find out that the Doc got Valency's diagnosis mixed up with someone else and that she is so healthy that she's going to live a long life. We'll find out Barney's deal, which IMO is that he is John Foster. Maybe everyone will find out that he is John Foster and her family will come crawling to hang out with their famous in law and now everyone will admire Valency.
Birchie! My town is SO COOL. I'm not even being a weirdo about it. It really is. There are two rivers and an island and a pond and that's just the water features. There's also the water tower and museum and lots of historical sites. It's awesome. (I mean, it's in a red county and there are flags and signs for That Man all over the place, but it's truly a historical place.)
DeleteI was also shocked and delighted! Also, I wondered what on earth the climax of this book could be if she was already getting married! Maybe you're right and the climax really will just be that he is John Foster and that's So Thrilling for Valancy.
Ah, i loved this part of the book- Valancey is so happy! Arg- I have so many things I want to say, but they all reveal parts of the ending (obviously there are drawbacks to reading the whole book right away.) It was interesting to me that because she only has a few months to live, she's really soaking in every experience. She's not worried about the future, but she's also not sad that this is all temporary- she's just fully enjoying every single day. Living in Barney's cabin sounds wonderful, but I wonder if I would be thinking "But what's going to happen next? We can't just do this forever. I have to get back to real life, I have to earn some money..." I don't think I could enjoy it as fully as Valancey does.
ReplyDeleteYes, too bad Valancey's only hope for independence from her family was to get married- luckily Barney is a kind man and it worked out for her.
Yeah, I think it's weird that she's never asked Barney how he gets his money. Like...what do you do to fund your lifestyle of cars, cabins, and cats? But I can also see how it's not a concern for Valancy if she does think her time is limited. Why worry about money if you're not going to be around to use it?
DeleteI was stunned when Valancy asked BS (oh boy, look at those initials!) to marry her. She really embraced tossing away convention and embracing True Happiness for herself. Maybe living each day as if it's our last (or close to it) is the way to go.
ReplyDeleteBarney has to be the idol John Foster. "Methinks he doth protest too much" and all that. When he makes her promise not to look at his mail, that's a clue: likely he gets correspondence and/or checks from his agent/publisher/editor. I think he wants to be sure that Valancy isn't some fangirl who's found out his secret.
3. I'm not sure about the island thing, especially in a cold climate. The winter chapter irked me no end. You know how I hate and detest winter and snow, and the whole thing was glorifying snow and ice and making it seem as if it were just ducky and terrific, skating and skiing around. Nope. Screw that. It's cold and awful.
4. I forgot where we were supposed to stop, so I read ahead a chapter and laughed so hard at one line already. I'm absolutely certain that Valency's health is better than she was led to believe (not a spoiler; it wasn't in the chapter I read), and her prognosis is wrong. I think we'll find out that BS is the famous writer, and I think her family will continue to be miserable anyway because Valancy will not change her lifestyle.
I think Valancy's prognosis is wrong, too. I think the doctor was so confuzzled when he left that he just got things mixed up. I hope that means good things for Valancy, but the pessimist in me thinks Barney only signed up for a short-term gig for marriage and how it is going to go over if it's more permanent? What if he doesn't want that? Egads. It's so fraught. I assume BS is as crazy for her as she is for him because it's an LMM joint, but what if he isn't?
Delete(I am one of those people who could easily romanticize winter if I was in a cozy warm cabin watching the snow drift by, so I'm going to refrain from talking about how great winter can be. My real beef with winter is that it last forEVER.)
I know there would be lots of awful things about being isolated in the winter if you didn't have the proper gear...BUT I think winter was simpler in a way back then? Growing up, I used to skate on a local lake and it was MAGIC. So I loved how the winter chapter romanticized things - it helped remind me winter isn't always horrid!
Delete1) I knew it was untenable for her to return to her family but I did not expect her to propose to BS! It was the better choice but BS's comments about not loving her made me a little sad for her. But living independently was not a choice she could have made at this time in history sadly.
ReplyDelete2) It does seem that this is likely the case although I did NOT see that happen. She is forbidden from getting his mail so that is what is most suspicious to me!
3) The winter scenes and description of the island reminded me of Nicole as I know she lives in a beautiful area with a view of a lake and winter is not so intense there. I would like to live where Nicole lives when I am retired but not in this stage of life with young kids. I grew up in a remote location and LOATHED IT. We did not live on a picturesque lake but it was a quiet life and I hated it as a child.
4) I will be sad when this book comes to an end as I have really loved it! I do think the doctor's dx was incorrect and Valancy is not going anywhere.
It did seem like her choices were pretty limited. It was sad when he said he didn't love her. I mean, on the other hand, how could he? They barely know each other!
DeleteI also grew up in a remote location and hated it. I love having neighbors and being able to walk my dog on sidewalks and walk to the library and post office. I truly love living in a small town. I would not want to live on the island, either.
It shocks me that anyone is shocked that Valancy married Barney, lol. it was the only logical (in the book's logic) next step to me, although I didn't know exactly how it would play out.
ReplyDeleteWe stayed on a cottage on an island here one year with my husband's extended family, and the island itself was lovely - the cottage was the only thing on it - but it was a giant pain in the ass to get there and back every time we went out for anything. So no, I would not want to live on Barney's island, idyllilc as it sounds in writing, with an outhouse and a bunch of bugs. I go camping once a year and I am almost too much of a princess even for that.
It never crossed my mind that Barney was John Foster and now I feel like that was a giant oversight on my part - of COURSE he must be John Foster. It is so interesting reading along with other people, which is an experience I don't get in my regular book club. There is a woman who always claims to have figured out surprises and I always think she's lying - I guess this way of reading wouldn't really cancel that because she could just read ahead.
Ha! I guess some of us aren't as smart as you are about what happens in these books. I guess maybe I thought they'd get together, but I didn't expect HER to propose and I didn't expect it so soon in the book!
DeleteYeah, I agree with you that I think I'm out on the island life. Maybe for two or three weeks and then I'd want to get to a library without having to get into a canoe.
I just knew she wouldn't go home and Barney was right there and passably cute, so... I totally missed the John Foster thing, so not claiming to be smart, just single-minded, apparently.
Delete1) I wasn't shocked by her proposal; she's done with those dreary family members and for her, having a man/person who could support her financially and emotionally was worth the risk.
ReplyDelete2) I never correlated Barney and John Foster, but yes, everyone in the comments is saying this, so perhaps it's just a HUGE oversight in my brain. It does make sense of his hiding out in his workroom and taking off for days at a time in the 'woods'.
3) Not sure that I could do it, but for Valancy, this is such an upgrade from her past life!
4) I think they'r going to actually do the deed and she's gonna have a baby. *crossing my fingers, because she'll get a change to have a real, caring family*
There were so many things that made me go HUH in these chapters. Since I'm doing the audio version, I don't always remember to mark/write it down. I do remember at one point Barney looked at her and said something like: "You aren't pretty, but if you turn your head back to me, while walking, there is something nice about your face." WHAT IN THE HELL? There was so much talk about Valancy's looks, even by herself noting that she wasn't that pretty. I suppose the author was young (immature?) while writing this book? I don't know, that just stood out to me.
This stood out to me as well!! That is part of what made me a bit sad for Valancy. She comments on her lack of good lucks and then her husband does as well. I think BS also essentially said he doesn't love her when he agreed to marry her. Which I get but do you need to put that to words?
DeleteYES! I don't think I could live on the island, but she seems happy as a clam. Good for here!
DeleteUgh. I don't want her to have a baby. Such drudgery. (I despise when romance novels end with babies. It's not a happy ending for me!) Stick with the cats, Valancy!!!!
I read that part a while back, but now that I'm reminded of it - that 'you aren't pretty' big from her husband felt like a sucker punch. What the what?
DeleteDoes anyone truly believe that Valancy isn't pretty? I've never been convinced that she was as unattractive as the book would have us believe.
DeleteI totally believed she would end up marrying BS, but I didn't expect her to propose to him. Wow. You go, girl.
ReplyDeleteI didn't connect that he might be John Foster, but now that people have pointed that out - I am on board with that mindset.
I align with Nancy. The chapter all about winter on the island was not my favorite. I was like, NO, ICK. I couldn't live on an island. Too remote and far from the store, etc. Lovely to visit a place like that.
I've really enjoyed this book. Much more than I expected. I'll be sad when it's over. I agree with Suz. I think she's healthy and she's gonna end up pregnant and her stupid family is gonna be surprised because they think she's so old. I'm rooting for her to have a baby and have her own sweet family.
You people rooting for her to have a baby. *shakes head* That is not wish fulfillment for me. I want her to realize that she's healthy, realize that she's just as good at writing as John Foster, and be an independent lady. This is not going to happen, but I can dream, can't I?
Delete1) I love Valancy and Barney getting married! I thought they would get together, but I was wondering if we’d see more of a traditional courtship. Could you imagine Valancy going back home and Barney showing up to take her out?!?! It seems both brave AND dangerous; she has no problem just moving in with men she doesn’t fully know. This would be such a different genre if Barney wasn’t as he is… (A cabin in the woods?!?!)
ReplyDelete2) How can Barney NOT be John Foster? I can’t imagine it any other way. It makes is so much more of a “love match” for Valancy as Foster is what carried her through so many bad years with her family.
3) I do think I would love to live in Barney’s cabin. They are able to get around to town when they want to, but otherwise have such a quiet and present life. I love the woods and the water and the idea of just taking the day to do whatever the day wants… (but that might be me being reactive to my own busy and chaotic life, haha!)
4) I have NOT read ahead and have avoided Google (which I am so proud of). My guesses are that Valancy’s heart condition is not fatal somehow and that is figured out, Barney admits he’s John Foster and he loves Valancy, and they live this happy and odd life together. Oh, and certain members of her family come around to it. I will have a quiet personal riot if she ends up going back to her family.
Ha! I never even thought about it, but you're right. This could be the start of a horror movie.
DeleteI might like a vacation in the cabin for two or three weeks, but then I would want out. I think that's a reaction to me growing up in the middle of nowhere.
There's NO WAY she ends up going back to her family, is there? That wouldn't happen!
I loved that Valancy proposed! How awesome and unusual for that time. Heck, this book was probably scandalous because of that!
ReplyDeleteThis part of the book was what made me know this book was written by the same author as Anne of Green Gables. All the descriptions of life on the island, the wonder of nature, and living for the moment are classic Anne Shirley! And I ate it up!
I didn't think about Barney being John Foster...but now I do.
I don't think I'd like living on an island, but it's a very romantic setting for this story. I'd worry about floods and bugs and my boat sinking!
YES! What if something happens to your boat when you're out there? Or what if you're alone with no boat, like if Barney took it somewhere or something? This is sounding like a worse and worse idea to me.
DeleteI continued to love Valancy's transformation. I loved how - when she proposed - it said "all the dead Stirlings revolved rapidly in their graves". Hilarious. Again, I can't believe how progressive Montgomery is; Valancy is Anne on steroids.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED THAT SHE GOT HER DUST PILE!
A few quotes of interest:
"I have to be tidy. I don't really want to be. But untidiness hurts me."
When they get married and Valancy tells her mother is was by a Free Methodist..."as if to have been married by an imprisoned Methodist would have been a shade less disgraceful." This book is so funny."
"You do laugh beautifully," Barney told her once. "It makes me want to laugh just to hear your laugh."
This is so true. I love how some people's laughter is contangious.
I have no idea what's going to happen next, but I don't think Valancy will die and I DO think Barney is John Foster.
I love the idea of the island in winter. It sounds...perfect!
The DUST PILE!!!! YAAAASSSSS! It's such a ridiculous thing to be fixated on, but at the same time so perfect.
DeleteWow. Elisabeth. You of ALL PEOPLE saying the island sounds perfect?!? You know it would be SO COLD and someone's got to get all the firewood ready. And cooking? Egads. I thought I knew you, Elisabeth.
DeleteSo here's the thing. Winter when you don't have to bundle up kids or scrape off a car or WORK sounds pretty magical. I mean there is all the housework and such, but it's just the two of them and I don't get the sense she is working her fingers to the bone. It just sounds so freeing. Though the cold sounds dreadful, I get the sense their home is small, warm, and cozy.
DeleteBut I'm deluding myself I'm sure into some romanticized notion. And I suppose she would be wearing long dresses! In the snow! The horror.
These chapters were EVERYTHING. I really do think her heart condition has something to do with anxiety, especially the way she became so distraught when they had that terrible storm and she didn't know if Barney was okay. That's 100% how I react when my mom doesn't answer her phone, HA. But I think that Barney's love (which will come!) and being in nature and being away from her family will be a good balm to her nerves.
ReplyDelete1) I did not expect Valancy to propose to Barney! That is such a brave thing to do! I think she knew she couldn't live her "last remaining months" (as she thinks) with her terrible family and this was the only avenue available for girls like her back in those days. I had such a happy smile reading these chapters because I was so glad that Valancy got to have a life away from her family. And her blue castle!
2) I was shocked when it was mentioned as a possibility last week in your comment section but now it makes so much sense! I'll honestly be surprised if he's NOT John Foster.
3) Probably not. It seems rather treacherous and you know I can't handle cold weather!
4) I think Valancy will realize she doesn't have a heart condition (maybe she goes back to the doctor to find out how much longer she has, and that's when he realizes the mix-up!). I think Barney and Valancy will fall deeply in love and live out their days in her blue castle. And she will find out Barney is John Foster and together, they will become a husband-and-wife nature-writing duo!
I love your idea in #4, that they start co-authoring nature books.
DeleteHow about Valancy just becomes a nature writer herself and we leave Barney out of it? I just...I hate that the answer is always a man. *sigh*
DeleteI don't remember who came up with the idea of Barney being John Foster, but it really does seem the most likely explanation for all of his behavior, and why else would LMM mention the NAME of this author so much early on? At first I thought, Nah, where's that coming from? but then when Barney started slamming Foster, it all became pretty obvious.
ReplyDeleteI was pissed that Barney Foster (my new name for him) was mean, told her he didn't love her and that she wasn't pretty. And poor Valancy, she's so love deprived that she hung on the small compliments that he gave her.
No, she won't die, her family will continue to be horrible people, etc. I'm sorry I didn't do the homework...I've been struggling to keep up with people's blogs even, and finished my reading of these chapters last night after a party and some wine, so homework was NOT going to happen.
If there's one thing I adore about Valancy above all else, it is her lust for life. If I thought I were terminally ill, I'm not sure I could keep from worrying and wallowing. She says NOPE, my first 29 years were bullshit, I'm going to squeeze this last year of all the joy I can, and she seems really happy. I'd kind of like her to go to Paris (or even New York) for a bit, maybe with someone nicer than Barney. She could come back to him if she must.
Were the Anne of Green Gables books this funny? I read them so long ago, I don't remember. I remember loving the first one or two, but not much more than that.
I think Barney appreciates the honesty that Valancy brought to the relationship initially. She's unlike so many women of the time in that she isn't using coquetry and a lot of so-called feminine wiles. If he IS John Foster, he wants to be sure she really doesn't know, and that she's not marrying him because of that. Which is a long way of saying that I didn't think Barney was necessarily being mean, but he was being honest and careful--sort of testing her. Plus, we have to remember that we're viewing this through our 21st century lens, and it's not a 21st century book.
DeleteI so agree with you about loving how she's embracing what she feels are her last months of life. I'd like to feel I'd be accepting and want to move on and enjoy the time I have, too (if for no other reason than to help my family through it), but I know there would be plenty of worrying and wallowing.
I also agree that if I heard I was terminal and only had a few months to live, I might be morose about it and not enjoy life as much as Valancy is. I mean, I would certainly not choose to live with a strange, secretive man on a remote island (it does sound like the opening scene to a slasher film), but in this situation I can see how it may have seemed like her only real option.
DeleteOkay, my big question - do we think Valancy and Barney are having sex? I'm trying to figure out if they are and it's just not mentioned because, you know, it's L.M. Montgomery and she didn't write of those things, or if Valancy and Barney aren't having sex because theirs is a marriage of convenience. But the bit about Valancy in bed made it seem like she slept alone. Not that one has to share a *bed* to be getting it on.
ReplyDeleteI thought of Elisabeth's post on winter too, when I read the winter section. Down to the mention of no mosquitoes.
I also looked up Oriel Window and now I want one - also I couldn't quite picture an oriel window on an island cabin.
Another word I had to look up was "wen", as in Edward Beck being described as "That old man with a wen on his forehead and dozens of children." Wen, being a boil or growth or cyst.
My favorite quote:
"When the brief afternoon wanes and the sun just touches the tops of the hills, there seems to be all over the woods an abundance, not of colour, but of the spirit of colour. There is really nothing but pure white after all, but one has the impressing of fairy-like blendings of rose and violet, opal and and heliotrope on the slopes - in the dingles and along the curves of the forest land."
This passage reminded me of water colour class, when we were painting clouds and our teacher telling us that clouds are never just white.
- I kind of figured that Valancy would marry Barney and was so delighted when she asked him to marry her. Go girl!
- I am definitely on the Barney is John Foster train. So much so that if he isn't John Foster there needs to be something just as huge and narratively satisfying or I'm going to be VERY disappointed.
- I loved the descriptions of Barney's shack and of the nature on the Island in these chapters. I sometimes fantasize about living on an island. Last summer, we rented an air bnb on an island off the coast of Maine and it was so relaxing to be there. But the logistics of island living were eye opening for me For example - to get to high school, the kids had to be on the 6:30am ferry every week day. And the kids all had free fairy passes because the ferry was essentially their school bus.
-I think the book is going to end with Valancy not dying. I mean what else could reasonably happen???
-
I too was wondering about the sex part? Are they just co-habitating or what?
Delete"And then his signal whistle from the shore. She ran down to the landing rock to greet him—to nestle herself into his eager arms—they did seem eager." (page 217)
Delete"Once or twice night overtook them, too far from their Blue Castle to get back. But Barney made a fragrant bed of bracken and fir boughs and they slept on it dreamlessly, under a ceiling of old spruces with moss hanging from them, while beyond them moonlight and the murmur of pines blended together so that one could hardly tell which was light and which was sound." (page 222)
"Now she almost counted that night lost on which she didn’t wake up and lie awake for half an hour just being happy, while Barney’s regular breathing went on beside her...(page 235-236)
I totally assumed they were having sex and had to go digging in to figure out why I thought that. I mean, they definitely sleep in the same bed. Maybe I'm not being fair to men, but I just don't think Barney would not get married and just chastely kiss her good night...
I definitely thought they were sleeping in the same bed...but I have to think sex would be a BIG deal to someone who had been so sheltered? Yet it never comes up? I think Valancy would be embarrassed or unsure? But I guess that would be a bridge too far for Montgomery to unravel. Barney does seem quite worldly, so I suspect he'd know the ropes...
DeleteIt never occurred to me that they weren't having sex. I think her 'first kiss' was the only hint we are going to get on that front. But yeah, they're married, if they weren't doing it, I think there would have been something said. She probably had to initiate it though.
DeleteOh I see that. I think maybe I thought they were chastely snuggling. Though I imagine having sex would be up there with things that one would want to do if one were dying, so it would make sense. I think I was waiting for a baby to appear for confirmation...
DeleteI would love to live on an island! (If there was running water, electricity, and internet.) Sorry, Engie--I got greedy and finished the book. I've responsibly kept myself away from the discussion because I didn't want to inadvertently give things away.
ReplyDeleteI have to strictly stop myself from reading ahead because I don't want to spoil anything in the comments. I don't start reading chapters for the next week until Wednesday! Can you imagine?
DeleteHere’s some information about Barney’s cat and Montgomery’s love of them included in my original manuscript book copy:
ReplyDeleteIn the published version, “Jigglesqueak” is changed to “Banjo.” Montgomery had clipped an article from the Illustrated London News (January 2, 1892) entitled “In Praise of Cats” for her Blue scrapbook (c. 1893-1989). The article was illustrated with a picture of a kitten named Banjo, painted by Henriette Ronner.
Montgomery loved cats and her favourite was named Good Luck. A photograph of him was used on postcards to advertise The Blue Castle. Good Luck (or “Lucky” as Montgomery called him) was born in Cavendish, PEI, and Montgomery claimed him while she was visiting there in August 1923. In her journal entry for August 4, 1923, she writes that he is “the most oddly and beautifully marked cat I have ever seen – silvery gray with jet-black marks. The marks leaf with an M inside it and I said he would bring good luck.”
I loved Montgomery’s description of the island and her description of the seasons. I felt like I was right there. Turns out these passages were from her own previously published essays, “Spring in the Wood,” “The Woods in Summer,” and “The Woods in Winter” in Canadian Magazine in May, September and December 1911.
I grew up on Vancouver Island, a very large island, but have visited many of the smaller surrounding Gulf Islands. While they are nice to visit, I would not want to make a move that had me living as a permanent residence. My least favourite mode of transportation is the BC Ferries. I hate the cost, line-ups and being at the total mercy of a system that is often unreliable. I just returned from a visit to Victoria, so my dislike is pretty fresh in my mind!
I am not a romance reader so her romance with Barney/John Foster (I agree they appear to be the same person) is not what’s pulling me in. I love Valancy because she is gutsy to get away from her family and marrying Barney was really the only choice she had to remain independent from them once Cissy died. I am glad that he treats her well, and yes, I agree, he has given her some rather back-handed compliments as others have pointed out.
I also love all the hypocrisy that’s pointed out and how Valancy no longer cares what others think and doesn’t feel the need to follow the societal pressures of the town. A great example is when Barney comments on her laugh.
He says, “There’s a trick about your laugh – as if there were so much more fun back of it that you wouldn’t let out. Did you laugh like that before you came to Mistawis, Moonlight?”
She replies, “I never laughed at all – really. I used to giggle foolishly when I felt I was expected to. But now – the laugh just comes.”
How wonderful that Valancy laughs now because she feels it rather than as a required performance!
I learned all about Montgomery's love for cats in the Story Girl podcast. I think she's someone who could have used a good dog in her life! Jigglesqueak seems like it's hard to say. My tongue wants to default to Jinglesqueak. Anyone else?
DeleteI am a romance girl, but this seems like the worst sort of romance. Pick a guy because he's literally the only option? Check. He says he doesn't find you attractive or love you? Check. (Even if it's not true in the end, why say it aloud?) He's keeping secrets? Check. I just want Valancy to not have to deal with a dude and still have a fulfilling life.